Photos: The Most Notable Designer Dress Snubs in Recent Red Carpet History

As Nancy O’Dell’s expert arrivals reportage would surely attest, the custom-fitted gown is a far cry from your standard impulse buy. Not only has its selection been known to induce ulcers in PR execs and celebrity spokespeople alike, but its labored construction can also necessitate dozens of time-intensive alterations for a designer’s meticulous atelier. The resulting creation fits like a glove, photographs like a dream, and . . . sometimes never sees the light of day.

“Oh, this old thing?” trills some It Girl du jour to the tune of a beleaguered pattern maker’s heart shattering. “I tried it on, like, four seconds ago and had to wear it.”

In a characteristically frank interview with WWD’s Bridget Foley last week, recent C.F.D.A. Lifetime Achievement Award winner and industry icon Vera Wang called dressing celebrities for the red carpet “a gamble of the highest order” and did not mince words in expressing the devastation caused by starlets’ occasional impulsive changes of heart.
“It’s like having your guts ripped out of you because you’ve given it your all,” said Wang, who went on to recount a moment of commiseration with gal pal Carolina Herrera. “I remember something [Carolina] said once that was so profound: ‘You know, when you hurt me you’re not just hurting me. I can take it. But everyone around me that gives up their life for me can’t.’” Oh, that Carolina. She just gets it.

The poignant exchange—had poolside in the South of France, we’re sure—demonstrates the less-than-glamorous frustrations shared by designers of even the highest caliber in the face of such eleventh-hour miseries. Recognizing their hurt, we’re shining a (fluorescent, ha!) spotlight on those celebrities who’ve supposedly skipped out on their original award-show ensembles. Vera, we’ve got your back.

Photos:Photos: The Most Notable Designer Dress Snubs in Recent Red Carpet History

Read moreRead less

1/10

|

Anne Hathaway (Oscars 2013)

Anne Hathaway raised eyebrows when she arrived at this year’s Academy Awards wearing a pale-pink, questionably-darted Prada number mere hours after Valentino had announced that the French fashion house would be outfitting her for the evening’s festivities. The actress eventually apologized, but not before inciting some rancor for her last-ditch swap.